Investment Officer

Luxembourg’s financial supervisor Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, CSSF, and Alfi, the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, will host a joint webinar on 6 June to discuss the new new rules for investment funds concerning errors in Net Asset Value (NAV) calculations, breaches of investment rules, and other related errors in investment funds. The CSSF announced the new rules in March as per CSSF Circular 24/856. 

Vanguard Group has announced that Salim Ramji, formerly of BlackRock, will become its new CEO on July 8th. Ramji, who will also join the board of directors, will take over from Tim Buckley.

Until recently, Ramji was responsible for BlackRock’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index investments divisions, where he managed to grow the ETF business from $1 trillion to $2.5 trillion.

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other people news includes updates from Gen II Fund Services, Nuveen, PWC Luxembourg, Robeco, Candriam and Ark Invest. 

Gül Poslu

Gül Poslu (photo) has been named head of Benelux at Nuveen, a global asset manager with over some 1.200 billion in assets under management.

The latest edition of the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Global Asset Management Report provides a stark portrait of today’s asset management industry. Despite a robust 12 percent growth in global assets under management, reaching a formidable 120.000 billion dollars in 2023, the sector faces significant headwinds. Rising costs, eroding revenues, and the fading allure of traditional asset management approaches paint a troubling picture.

Degroof Petercam, Belgium’s largest private bank with a significant presence in Luxembourg, on Wednesday posted a double-digit decline in its full year net profit because of one-time costs related to sale of a majority stake to France’s Credit Agricole group and due to higher tax pressure.

Addressing its business performance, the firm said its private banking business improved due to higher interest rates, while its asset management activities faced a decline in revenues. 

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other people news includes updates from Euroclear, Norton Rose Fulbright, Mourant Luxembourg and Pictet.

Valérie Urbain

Valérie Urbain (photo) has officially been appointed as chief executive officer of Euroclear, with her appointment having been approved at the May 3 annual general meeting. She will replace Lieve Mostrey.

Swiss-headquarterted private equity firm Partners Group has announced the launch of a new private equity European Long-Term Investment Fund (Eltif), opening up its private offerings also to retail investors. The fund is its first new private equity fund under the updated Eltif regime.

The Partners Group Private Equity Evergreen was already registered in Luxembourg last December and has a minimum investment threshold of 10,000 euro. The fund will be available to investors across Europe, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the Benelux regions.

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other people news includes updates from the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, EFG Bank, Edmond de Rothschild, UEL and Mapfre.

Laetitia Hamon

Laetitia Hamon (photo), head of sustainable finance at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, or LuxSE, has been appointed as member of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on scaling up sustainable finance in low and middle-income countries.

The Norwegian parliament is poised to debate the merits and drawbacks of incorporating private equity investments into the country’s mammoth 1,490 billion euro sovereign wealth fund, the largest globally. The government is hesitant about unlisted funds, despite previous recommendations from Norges Bank, the country’s central bank which manages the national oil fund.

Schroders plc, one of Europe’s leading asset managers, has announced that its CEO, Peter Harrison, intends to retire next year after a decade on its board.

The firm, headquartered in London, has initiated a search for his successor and anticipates an orderly transition throughout 2025. Harrison will remain a director of the company during this period.